Farewell to Nokia: HMD to Officially Launch Its Own Brand in China
On August 16, an announcement was made on Nokia’s Chinese social media account stating that HMD Global, instead of “Nokia”, is set to officially launch in China.
HMD Global, the largest manufacturer of smart devices in Europe, has been the authorized entity for designing, developing, manufacturing, and selling Nokia phones across the globe. The company, founded by several ex-Nokia executives, has been behind all Nokia products in recent years. In May 2016, HMD entered into a partnership with Nokia to license the Nokia brand.
Previously focused on the Windows Phone system, Nokia, under HMD’s stewardship, transitioned to fully embrace the Android ecosystem. Now, HMD is pivoting to its own brand. The “HMD Global” social media account has been activated, and the Nokia mobile phone account has been deactivated, signaling the end of Nokia smartphones, which once rivaled Motorola.
The brand licensing agreement between HMD and Nokia is due to conclude in 2026. After this, HMD will cease production of Nokia-branded smartphones and concentrate on developing its own brand. They have already introduced HMD-branded phones at the Mobile World Congress. HMD’s entry into China suggests that future products released in the country will carry the HMD logo instead of Nokia’s.
